**REVIEW** Neem Oil by Oleavine

This is Oleavine's Organic Neem Oil...

This oil is pure and organic and not extracted with chemicals, which is really important to a lot of folks. I've used products from Oleavine before and I've never had problems with quality or service. (By the way, you can sign up for discounts, samples, and more at their site.)

As someone who loves using oils (you guys all know this by now), I had heard lots about the benefits of Neem oil for natural hair care - and other uses...

• 14 different daily uses here
• For hair loss
• For scalp psoriasis (video)
• To help your pets skin/hair issues, or their
• Flea and tick problems (who knew?)

What I did not know for myself was:

1. It is great for hair and skin, and
2. That it has a distinct smell all its own

I'm probably being a bit dramatic, but the smell is something I had to get used to. I can't even really think how to describe the smell. Close your eyes and imagine the scent of really fresh dirt mixed with old, wet, wood mixed with ground seed nuts of some kind. Or used cooking oil, like old fried-meat grease... I dunno.

The thing is, while the smell is not nicely fragrant, it's not particularly "stinky" in the way we think of stink. It's just an unusual odor. And it's strong.

After I smelled it for the first time (and by "smell" I mean opened the bottle top and was hit by a waft of "whew boy!"), I was hesitant to even use it. But to not use it at least once would be unfair to the business who sent out the product for review. I figured the least I could do was try the oil in private so that I could give some feedback.

So.

Around bedtime, I ran a bath with some lavender oil so that I could dive in and wash away the Neem oil smell after experimenting with it. Then I applied some of the oil directly and undiluted to my hands up to my wrists. 

Wow!

The feel of this oil was so nice that I started massaging in more on my arms. As much as I disliked the smell, I was fascinated with the feel of the oil on my skin. It feels very lotion-ey and is highly absorbent. Once it is massaged in, my skin is soft and feels like I have applied a really good lotion. 

My skin felt so amazing that I had to grab the bottle and do a double take. I wanted to make sure that I was using an actual oil, and I wanted to read the product info from Amazon again. There are the indications of being beneficial for skin, hair and scalp, and - when I reached the last sentence, I almost broke a rib laughing:

KEEP BUGS AWAY - Commonly Used as a Natural Bug and Mosquito Repellent or to add to Pet Care Shampoo...

I checked the bottle label and, yep, I was warned:

click & enlarge to read

The smell might not be what provides pest relief, but I'm thinking that it's key!

All kidding aside, though, I will put up with the smell for the wonderful benefits. That might tell you just how good this oil is.

So far, I have been using the Neem oil every day (or, rather, every night). The smell dies down after a few hours. As long as you don't get it on your clothing, you can mask the scent with perfume or scented water. Someone suggests using Tea Tree Oil to mask it. I've been rubbing in some vanilla-grapefruit oil or spritzing on some rosewater (which I will be reviewing here on the blog at a later date) and it works nicely. Ways that I have used this and the results I've gotten -

• On my hair and scalp - I love it on my scalp because it penetrates and soothes after I've washed my hair. On my dry hair, it was highly absorbing and felt good, but I haven't used it long enough to notice a lof of benefits. However...
• As an additive to my conditioner - this is amazing! I washed my hair with a moisturizing shampoo bar, then conditioned with about 1/2 Tbls of Neem oil mixed into about 3 Tbls Aussie Moist 7-in-1 Conditioner. I rinsed with cool to lukewarm water. I cannot tell you how soft and de-tangled my hair was afterwards. It was pretty awesome.
• Added to other oils for overnight skin conditioning - after long baths, I like to soak my skin with oils (added to an inexpensive lotion) to keep it from dying out. I tested the Neem oil by adding it to some regular no-name brand lotion with a little bit of Camelina oil and Avocado butter. (NOTE: You will want to protect your sheets and pillow cases from the Neem oil with towels.) The Neem oil  is just really good on the skin. Really good.
• As a lip moisturizer - it worked great when I had chapped lips after a little bit of fever the other day but, again, the smell might not be something you want helping to repel any kisses. Also, the taste is extremely bitter and icky. I probably won't use it on my lips again except in the worst kind of emergency.

So, what I can tell you is that Neem oil is unique from a lot of other oils I've tried. I especially love that the skin softening effects lasts so long. The oil itself appears to have a grainy texture, but those "grains" melt on skin contact. Maybe I get that granular looking result because I keep the oil in the fridge (?). 

By the way, while I've noticed that a lot of other reviewers hate the smell, I have one friend who said that she sort of like it after it faded somewhat. Maybe you will be okay with the smell (like my friend), or hate it (like me). Either way, I will continue to use it. It works too good not to.

Before I forget, as far as how much use I will get from the 12-ounce bottle, I'm thinking it will last me 2 or 3 months. For one thing, I will definitely be mixing it with other products (lotions, oils, shampoo and conditioner) and, also, it's one of those a-little-goes-a-long-way kind of products. And not just because of the smell. Next time that I add it to my hair conditioner, I will probably use a half the amount to condition and just a few drops as a leave-in oil.

dry hand

By the way, to give you an idea of the way the oil absorbs, I took a photo of my "dry" hand and my other hand right after applying the oil:

 You can see that the oil is not slick/greasy-looking. The skin feels very supple and moisturized though.

with Neem Oil

Finally, I want to say that I found some warnings for using Neem oil excessively. Here is info I found via WebMD. You must always be responsible for yourself and do your research before using any kind of product. If any of you have used Neem oil, please let me know here or on Plus what your results have been.

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** Oleavine Konjac Facial Sponge (for skin)

I'm going to go ahead and say right now that this Konjac Sponge from Oleavine is about to be a trend in face-care products. Even though the word "Konjac" makes me think of computer hacking, I am pretty hyped about this sponge.

Looks like a pumice stone, right?
Feels that way -  until wet.

Very thick and, well, sponge-y
(The string is for hanging & drying)

Why do I like this so much? Well,for one thing, like most folks I like the way my skin feels after a good exfoliating scrub but hate the idea of abrading it with razors or other harsh tools. (Maybe that's just me, but didn't your skin crawl a little at the word "abrading"?)

Before I got the chance to review this sponge, I'd never heard of anything like it. I wanted to try it out because I like the idea of cleaning my face without too many soaps and additives. I definitely like the idea of using something as gently as a sponge.

After my first use, here is what I like most about the Konjac sponge & why I think it will be the next beauty trend:

• Easy to use. Just rinse & wring, then massage your skin with it.
• Clean. No need to add soaps, oils or other cleansers.
• Sensitive. Does not scrape at the skin the way most exfoliating/scrubbing products can do.
• Affordable. In the $10 price range on Amazon. It's supposed to be replaced every 2-3 months.
• Can use on your face or all over your body if you want.

If you just want to try this out, know that Oleavine offers a 100% money-back guarantee and they encourage customer feedback, which is always a good thing.

Since I tell you guys way too much about myself, I might as well let you in one the one super-annoying beauty problem I have: blackheads. Right on the tip of my nose. I am always tweezing and scrubbing at those pesty little things. The blackheads were the first thing I checked for after using the sponge. They are mostly gone, no tweezers or scrubs required.

Oleavine has other sponges (with different properties), but this particular sponge is infused with Bamboo Charcoal which contains activated carbon and minerals. According to the product box, this will purify the skin and draw out anti-oxidants.

I can verify that when I didn't have to use as much of my facial moisturizer after I treated my skin with the sponge. I guess because I had cleared away some of the dead skin that was blocking my face cream. Not sure, but I like the overall results.

Add to that the fact that these sponges are natural, eco-friendly and bio-degradable and I think even more people will want to give them a try. For the super-concerned folks, these sponges are not tested on animals and are vegan-approved.

I had a question about whether or not I needed to remove my makeup before using the sponge. Someone else asked and received their answer on the Amazon page. The answer is that, basically, you don't have to remove makeup beforehand. Some folks use the sponge as the remover. Nice.

One thing I will point out: in my case, I have sensitive skin and I can tell that I will only be able to use this on my face maybe once a week. I plan to use on my lips and other less sensitive areas of  my body more often. My knees and elbows? Oh, they are going to get a daily treatment!

You know your skin better than anyone so I will only recommend that you use the sponge just as often as you would use any other exfoliating product. At least, until you can tell how your skin will react. I noticed that it doesn't take a lot of massaging of the facial area to get good results. I went over my face twice when once would have been fine. I could tell when I noticed a slight sensitivity in one spot. I'm guessing that the natural state of your skin (oily, dry, or combo) will be a factor in how often you can use this. That makes sense because, according to the labeling, this product is supposed to be especially effective for "oily and acne-prone skin".

Like I said, I think this is going to be the new beauty trend, but it's one I can say I like.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: By the way, "Konjac" is the name of the fiber used in the sponge. Once I did a quick search, I found quite a bit of information online about this fiber and the various ways in which it's used (and some hazards of eating the fiber...)


DISCLOSURE:
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.